BIOMASS/BIOFUELS & GHGs

Use of genuine by-products from sawmills to produce heat and electricity, biofuels and the like could reduce carbon emissions compared to use of coal or other petroleum products. However, that’s a slippery slope as we have seen in the case of our larger biomass energy plants which take in primary forest biomass when there are not enough wastes, or just because it’s cheaper.

Using primary forest biomass to produce bioenergy/biofuels increases GHG emissions over the next 50+ years compared to use of coal and other petroleum fuels. It’s over the next 50 yeas that we really need to reduce our GHG emissions. View:
– Natural Resources Canada GHG Calculator confirms Nova Scotia forest bioenergy schemes are worse than coal (Post on this website Jan 3, 2017)
– Biofuels increase, rather than decrease, heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions (University of Michigan, 2016). “The study, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture crop-production data, shows that during the period when U.S. biofuel production rapidly ramped up, the increased carbon dioxide uptake by the crops was only enough to offset 37 percent of the CO2 emissions due to biofuel combustion. The researchers conclude that rising biofuel use has been associated with a net increase—rather than a net decrease, as many have claimed—in the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. The findings were published online Aug. 25 in the journal Climatic Change… “This is the first study to carefully examine the carbon on farmland when biofuels are grown, instead of just making assumptions about it..”

More…

Forest Biomass Energy Policy in the Maritime Provinces: Accounting for Science
East Coast Environmental Law Report by Jamie Simpson, Dec. 2015. “We evaluate whether government policy on forest biomass in the Maritimes is keeping pace with science. Is the harvest of forest biomass sustainable from a biodiversity perspective and does the burning of forest biomass reduce overall carbon emissions? If not, then should governments continue to offer incentives to make forest biomass energy economically feasible?”

Feeding the Fire Biomass and Nova Scotia’s Race for the Bottom
Article by Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner, March 4, 2016. She explains why “calling biomass “renewable” in Nova Scotia is about as inconsistent as giving up liberty for freedom. It’s basically a lie and in the context of how forestry is done in this province it’s about as Orwellian as you can get.”

The Great Carbon Scam
Article in new Scientist 21 Sep 2016. You may have to take out a free membership to view the article. It describes why biomass burned to produce electricity should not be counted as renewable energy.

It’s too big – The Biomass Plant at Port Hastings
By Robert Devet in The Nova Scotia Advocate. March 12, 2016. “In a mere 10 minutes this documentary makes the case that to feed the boiler, to satisfy the voracious appetite of the Point Tupper biomass plant, the Department of Natural Resources is stressing forests in eastern Nova Scotia and jeopardizing the future of much of the forest industry.”

Is wood a green source of energy? Scientists are divided
By Warren Cornwall in Science Jan. 5, 2017. A good overview of the debate on this topic in scientific & industrial circles. “This past February, 65 scientists, many from major universities, penned a letter to Senate leaders warning that the carbon-neutral label would encourage deforestation and drive up greenhouse gas emissions. But a month later, more than 100 scientists took the opposite view in a letter to EPA, stating that “the carbon benefits of sustainable forest biomass energy are well established.” A lot depends on whether you look at the next 40 or the next 100 years, also whether enhanced soil GHG emission following clearcutting are taken into account. The Planet will be an impartial judge.

Curved arrows represent biologically mediated flows of GHGs: the straight arrow, industrial emissions of GHGs; and the symbols at bottom right, long term sequestration of carbon in the oceans. Carbon dioxide is the most important GHG in relation to forestry.

NEW BIOMASS PLANT OPENS IN PORT HAWKESBURY
NSP Press release OCTOBER 30, 2013. Includes Interesting facts about the Plant (PDF)-Online in July 2013 and supplying as much as 4% of the province’s total electricity requirement. -At 60 MW capacity, the plant has the ability to power 50,000 homes. -Its 150 metric tonne steam turbine (ST) was manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Yokohama. -The ST was being constructed when Japan suffered the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami resulting in the loss of electric capacity in the Tokyo region. MHI modified its manufacturing effort to absorb the disruptions and meet their commitment to NS Power to deliver the equipment by the end of April 2012. -The Generator was shipped from Liverpool, England to arrive in Halifax concurrent with the ST. -In April, a special train including a 12 axle rail car brought from San Diego was used to move the equipment from Halifax. -The temperature of the steam when it leaves the plant boiler is 480 degrees Celsius. -More than 75 different contractors worked on site during the construction of the plant. -As many as 50 trucks a day deliver up to 2000 tonnes of biomass every day. -It took 500,000 hours to construct the new biomass facility. The entire project timeline was completed without a lost time injury.